Hantavirus Danger To Cat Owners

The hantavirus is a virus that is transmitted by rodents. This disease can be contracted by humans and cats. There is no scientific evidence that hantavirus in cats caused illness, though it is suspicious that a larger percent of cats that are chronically ill with unrelated conditions have contracted hantavirus as opposed to healthy cats.

Cats become exposed to hantavirus by killing infected rodents. People cannot contract hantavirus directly from a cat that has been exposed to the hantavirus. However, if the cat owners clean up a rodent that has been killed by their cats and the rodent has the virus, the cat owners may contract the virus.

Though hantavirus does not seem to cause symptoms in cats, it can cause severe illness in humans. The two most common diseases caused by hantavirus are Hemorrhagic Fever with Renal Failure (HFRS) and Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome (HPS). The initial symptoms of Hemorrhagic Fever with Renal Failure are fever, chills, headache, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, and backache. It can cause kidney failure or death.

The symptoms of Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome are headache, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, dizziness, lightheadedness, chills, and fever. It can cause respiratory symptoms that may begin as a cough and progress to respiratory distress. Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome can affect the heart and kidneys. Once properly diagnosed and treated, the patient often fully recovers though the recovery period could take several weeks to months.

Cats that kill mice often bring the dead mice to their owners. So, even if the mice were not in the house, an outdoor cat may bring dead mice into the house or onto the property. When a cat owner cleans up a dead rodent, the cat owner should always be cautious.

The cat owner should wear gloves, put the rodent in a plastic bag, and add a few tablespoons of bleach to the bag. The person should bury the bag two or three feet deep. Before removing the gloves, the cat owner should wash the gloves with anti-bacterial soap by washing their hands while still wearing the gloves. Then, the gloves should be removed and the cat owner should wash their hands with anti-bacterial soap.